Linking Protein Degradation to Peptide and Amino Acid Compositions in Sinking Particles and Marine Sediments

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法》(公法111-5)资助的。有机质成岩作用，包括蛋白质成岩作用，是了解下沉海洋物质命运以及全球海洋碳和氮循环的一个重要领域。在海洋水域和沉积物中，来源于蛋白质和多肽的可水解性氨基酸组成历来是有机物降解状况和生物有效性的重要指标。传统的氨基酸分析会导致蛋白质的分解，这会抹去这些蛋白质中提供的序列和来源信息。然而，新的海洋蛋白质组技术使科学家能够解锁在氨基酸分析过程中丢失的序列和来源信息。华盛顿大学的一位科学家将整合蛋白质组学和氨基酸方法，以弥合海洋环境中分析氨基酸的传统测量和现代技术之间的知识差距。通过现场和实验室分析的结合，他将确定各种环境因素如何影响蛋白质的降解和保存。这项研究的结果将提供有关海洋和沉积物中有机碳和氮循环速率的定量信息，并提供对控制它们的过程的洞察。该项目将与SoundCitizen计划整合，该计划是华盛顿大学海洋学院内的一个共同指导和学生学习社区。还将为研究生和本科生提供支持和培训机会。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Organic matter diagenesis, including protein diagenesis, is an important area for understanding the fate of sinking marine materials as well as the global oceanic carbon and nitrogen cycles. In marine waters and sediments, hydrolysable amino acid compositions, derived from proteins and peptides, have historically been important indicators for organic matter degradation status and bioavailability. Traditional amino acid analyses result in the break down of proteins, which wipe out the sequence and source information provided within those proteins. However, new marine proteomic techniques have allowed scientists to unlock the sequence and source information that is lost during amino acid analyses. A scientist from the University of Washington will integrate proteomic and amino acid approaches to bridge the knowledge gap between traditional measurements and modern techniques of analyzing amino acids in the marine environment. Through the combination of field and laboratory analyses, he will determine how various environmental factors influence protein degradation and preservation. Results from this research will provide quantitative information regarding the rates at which organic carbon and nitrogen cycling occur in the oceans and sediments, as well as provide insight on the processes controlling them. This project will be integrated with the SoundCitizen program, a co-mentoring and student learning community within the University of Washington's School of Oceanography. Support and training opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students will also be available.